Silence is Golden..

Maybe it is just me but I do not understand the phrase - "people of color". Is that suppose to be a nice way to indicate that somebody's skin color is different from your own? What is it with people who have to focus on the obvious - which has no bearing on anything of value? Pretty ridiculous is it not? What do we say when we notice the seriously over or under weight - or the extremely short or tall - or those who limp or are missing extremities - why is it that we feel that we have to make any comment at all? Would it not be better to avoid saying anything at all -focusing instead on the positive - rather than the negative. .

The phrase "silence is golden"  is reported to date back to ancient Egypt and meant about the same that it means today - better to keep silent rather than speak stupidly. Jesus calls each of us to speak the Truth - openly and freely. He calls us to proclaim love - not observations of no value. He calls us to build up - not tear down - to create not destroy.  When we lack the proper words - then we are called to silence.


Deacon Dale 

Insert Foot..

Almost everyone I know has said something that they later regretted.  You know when someone says to you about putting your foot in your mouth - or put brain into gear before opening your mouth. Most often the misspeak is not intentional nor meant to harm or offend anyone. Recently the President of the United States misspoke when talking about the death camps in Poland. Anyone with any common sense knows that what was said by the President was read off a teleprompter or from a script that he did not write himself - but never the less he did say what he said. You would hope that if placed in a similar situation you would catch the error before committing to spoken word. It is a completely different thing when a video clip is edited and reported to intentionally make anyone look like they are completely clueless as did MSNBC recently with a clip of Mitt Romney. If you watched the complete clip of what actually was said and the edited one shown on the news - you can clearly see what was done. At the least - it is shameful what they did - not because he is a candidate for the Presidency - but because he is a fellow human being.

Jesus had to contend with similar misspeak and misrepresentation. The people who feared Him could not verbalize true statements that would convict Him - so they invented ones. Like those whose intention was to make a presidential candidate appear uninformed - so too did those in opposition with Jesus. They feared Him because He spoke the Truth and the Truth that He spoke was God - God's Love - God's Forgiveness - God's compassion. Anything they could speak against that - was no better than putting their feet in their mouths! 


Deacon Dale 

Earth Movers

When my oldest was a little guy he used to creatively name many different things. Often he would ask what an item was called - but on many occasions he just named them himself.  One day as we were driving he exclaimed "look at the dig!". As soon as I could - I looked at what he was trying to point out.  What he called a "dig" was an excavator or an earth mover. I thought about it for a bit and then I told him that yes - it should be called a "dig" because that is exactly what it was doing - digging dirt and moving it elsewhere.  Earth movers come in many different sizes but they all accomplish the same task - moving earth or dirt to make a change in the land that is being worked. It might be for a landscaping project or a housing development - whatever the project - it makes a dramatic change in what had existed previously.

Jesus was an "Earth Mover" - in the fact that He came to make changes. The only difference is that He was attempting to make drastic changes in the landscape of the heart.  He came to move boulders and stony hearts - to change them into new creations. He wanted to take what previously existed and change it into a new creation - formed by His Father's hand. Today He still seeks to change the hearts of men and women - He seeks to eliminate the evil that grows in many hearts and to change the landscape of their hearts and plant new seeds of faith and hope. If you need help in your life ask Jesus - He is the ultimate landscaper - He really"digs" YOU!


Deacon Dale 

Wash me - Scrub me...

Cleanse me - that is what we do with water. We drink it - we cook it - we wash with it. It is so awesome that water which is so plentiful has so many ordinary uses. We bathe and shower in it we wash our clothes and cars - we cook many different foods in it - we swim and play in it - we even drink it. It has been said that we can go for very long times without food but only a short time without water. So common - everybody (almost) has access to water. It is so plentiful and such an ordinary part of our lives that we even take it for granted. We just assume that turning a faucet will bring us water. When we cannot find anything better to drink we turn to - water. What a great gift from our Creator!

It is interesting that a very common and ordinary resource is used by many religious communities in their various rituals. In the Hebrew Scriptures we can read all the rules and regulations about using ordinary water to purify things and people. John the Baptist used water to cleanse people - He used that same water to baptize his cousin - Jesus. And Jesus who tuned water into wine to provide nourishment for people instructed His disciples to go out and use water and baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. What a gift it was to me today as I was privileged to baptize babies on this Father's Day. What some saw as an inconvenience to me - keeping me away from my own children - was in fact - a blessing that can only happen once a year. I can only say - thank you Jesus for allowing me to perform baptisms in Your Name on this Father's Day. To all my male readers - may the Lord of Mercies bless each and every one of you and your children this Father's Day!


Deacon Dale 

In Defense

Why is it that so many people have to defend and justify their actions?  If someone makes a decision to support an opposing sports team what gives you the right to demean and defame them just because they chose not to support your team?  Friendly chiding aside - when did it become acceptable to escalate to verbal threats and actual violence?  Just because somebody you know becomes involved in a business  that competes with your own does not give you the right to threaten them - if the market can bear or needs another provider - then sharpen your skills to maintain your market share.  Competition is healthy and is looked forward to by many individuals as they are smart enough to know that through competition and changes in how things are accomplished is the way we grow and develop - rather than shrink and stagnate.

When Jesus appeared preaching the Love of God - the Pharisees and Sadducees not only attacked Jesus' preaching but also each others. Under Hasmonean rule there developed factions of which three of particular interest were the Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes. Each group developed their own philosophy and so went their own way - while openly criticizing each other. The fact that they participated in the same thing that we experience today just shows that for whatever reason certain people just cannot accept the fact that we do not all think and act the same - the result is unjust criticism and threats. Jesus came to correct that - He came to change people's hearts and minds. He came to call each of us to be accepting - not judging - loving - not hating. If you feel persecuted - bring your cares to Jesus - to His Sacred Heart - He will give you comfort and peace.


Deacon Dale 

Sounds of Silence

Have you noticed how loud it is around you? If you think you have a quiet work environment - try turning off all the computers, fax machines etc and see how different it sounds.  When you go to a restaurant stop talking yourself and listen to all the clatter and discussions going on around your.  Maybe I am just getting old but it seems to me that it is getting almost impossible to find a quiet place to relax anymore. Even in your own home - at a minimum - you will hear the air blowing through your heating-cooling system.  Have you ever experienced a power outage at home when everything turns off at the same time and you are left in the quiet and dark?  If you have - then you know that period of silence that follows - nothing but your own breathing and heartbeat. And when the power comes back on and everything turns on at the same time you hear the end of silence with a loud bang!

There is so much background noise in our lives it is no wonder that people have a hard time  finding a quiet place to listen to God. The one almost quiet place that I can think of is the adoration chapel at church. As long as no one is saying prayers aloud - it is almost completely silent - a silence that comforts and soothes - a silence that relaxes and heals. That is because - in that silence - Jesus can come to you.The next time your life is over loaded with sound - try the silence of Jesus' presence.


Deacon Dale 

Your View

My nephew sent me a link today and asked my opinion about this video. Watch it and reply in comments please.

Jesus & Religion Video

I would have to agree - Jesus came to establish Church - not religion. Religion as defined by Wikipedia existed long before Jesus did. To quote Wikipedia:

 "Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to explain the origin of life or the universe. They tend to derive morality, ethics, religious laws or a preferred lifestyle from their ideas about the cosmos and human nature.  The word religion is sometimes used interchangeably with faith or belief system, but religion differs from private belief in that it has a public aspect"

To be "religious" means to do anything scrupulously and to be conscientiously faithful. The best example I can give is an ardent Cub baseball fan. Following their statistics and win - lose record - they have no reason for the following that they have.  Even when they are at their worst - they attract a fan base that other professional ball teams could only hope for. Why when they are so bad - do they do so well with attendance at their games - even the away games? The only reason is because Cub fans are "religious" in their commitment to their team.

When we say "religion" we commonly think "Church" - but there is a difference between religion or the practice of a given belief and Church or the people who gather to worship in a common way.  As I stated in the beginning of this post Jesus came to establish Church - to gather people into His Father's house. We - the people - established Religion - in an attempt to accomplish Jesus' goals. We may not have always done it right - but at least we have made an attempt. There is always room for improvement - in ourselves - in our church. With God's blessing both can and will be accomplished - in His time. Praise God!

Deacon Dale  

Heart & Soul..

When you woke up this morning did you even have a clue what you were suppose to accomplish this day? Sure you knew you had to shower and clean up and go to your job or meet up with a friend or help out with some charitable activity - but aside from all your commitments - what were you suppose to accomplish in this one day? If you are like most people - you don't have a clue. I cannot profess to know what I am suppose to accomplish on any given day either - so does that make you and I failures? I don't think so. We exist to love and serve our God and how we live our daily lives either does or does not accomplish that goal. In our work - in our play - in our interactions with each other - how we communicate - in anger - in compassion - in love - has affects that we can barely imagine. We live our lives honestly - each day - doing what we believe is right and just - and in the hidden spaces between the lines of our lives - God works miracles - all without our knowledge.

When we look at the life of Jesus - do we only see the external? Do we only see what is visible? If we do - we are missing what He is all about. To truly see Him - to truly see God - we need to look with the eyes of our hearts and listen with the ears of our souls.


Deacon Dale 

Stone Cold

On our recent trip to Washington, D.C. we visited the "mall" and a number of its monuments to the great people of this country. One of the newest monuments was of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.The monument which is carved in his memory is a "mountain" that is split into three sections -the left side of the mountain - the right side of the mountain and finally the third section which is suppose to be the center of the mountain. It is on this third section that an image of Dr. King is carved and the entire section is situated out of line from the left and right halves and moved forward. Inscribed on the side of that third section are the words "Out of a Mountain of despair - a Stone of Hope." Dr. King was that stone of hope who offered the people of the United States another way to embrace cultural differences - without the sin of discrimination.

For all people - of all cultures - all races - all religious beliefs - Jesus is the backbone and the original Stone of Hope - who brought God's message of love - acceptance - forgiveness - brotherhood - to all nations. His message 2000 years ago was the same message that Dr. King professed. And today that message remains unchanged. God loves all of us - not just one group - not just one color - not just one culture. He made us the same and different at the same time - not to discriminate against one another - but to celebrate the vastness and the greatness of His awesome Love. One nation - one peoples cannot contain all that God has to share with His people - so He made many - different and the same - that we could experience through each other - the Fullness of God.


Deacon Dale  

DC

To most people when you mention DC you get the comment Washington DC? And yes I was just in Washington DC with my wife so she could attend a conference on bioethics for the hospital. While there we took advantage and spent some time with our oldest son who took us to the "mall" to visit the World War II Memorial and the new Martin Luther King Jr Memorial. Both were very impressive - honoring an individual on the one hand for trying to bring peace to the Nation's peoples - and a group of individuals who fought for the exact same thing in a different theater. It is heartwarming and sad at the same time that people are willing to give their lives for peace and unfortunately some actually lose their lives in the process. 

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

World War II Memorial

DC has also been used to denote another group of people who have fought for peace - disciples of Christ. Many men and women have fought and shed blood to bring the Gospel message to others. Fear - bigotry - ignorance - fan the flames of distrust - and so - although on a peaceful mission - seeking to serve Christ - even in today's enlightened world - modern day disciples are treated poorly. In spite of this - those who truly believe - keep on with the task of spreading God's message - it is only the right thing to do - honoring the call to true discipleship with Jesus at our side.

Deacon Dale